Multi-cell partitions, sometimes known as "inner pack assemblies" are conventionally utilized in cartons, boxes, crates and other containers for separating articles packed therein to prevent breakage or damage to articles caused by contact between the articles. These multi-cell partitions are conventionally constructed of paper board, such as chip board, fiber board and the like, and include a plurality of intermeshing slotted transverse and longitudinal partition strips which must be separately fabricated and assembled in desired intermeshing relationship at their slotted edges for providing desired multi-cell partitions. These partitions are also constructed in varying numbers of cells, such as twelve, twenty-four, etc., and are of varying heights, lengths and widths for use in varying size cartons, boxes, crates and the like.
Heretofore, machines have been proposed for fabricating and/or assembling multi-cell partitions. Most of these previously proposed machines were constructed for assembling the intermeshing longitudinal and transverse partition strips into a partition in the open condition thereof as subsequently used in a carton, box, crate or the like. For the most part, these machines successively assembled partitions by an intermittent operation rather than providing for substantially continuous flow of the strips during assembly. Thus, while these machines may satisfactorily fabricate and assemble multi-cell partitions, they lack the speed and/or versatility necessary for satisfactory commercial operation, e.g. desired speed for producing a desired number of partitions in a given time for commercially profitable operation and desired flexibility and adjustment of the machine for providing varying cell types and sizes of partitions.
Examples of such machines for fabricating and assembling or assembling alone multi-cell partitions in the open condition may be seen from the following prior are patents considered with respect to this invention:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. Inventor Issue Date ______________________________________ 592,172 Herr November 13, 1894 609,684 Lahr August 23, 1898 1,996,812 Jensen et al April 9, 1935 2,092,760 Jensen et al September 14, 1937 2,283,492 Delegard May 19, 1942 2,494,437 George et al January 10, 1950 2,723,602 Schroeder November 15, 1955 2,767,625 Schroeder October 23, 1956 3,133,481 McCormick et al May 19, 1964 3,685,401 Peters August 22, 1972 3,690,225 Monaco et al September 12, 1972 3,809,593 Burke et al May 7, 1974 ______________________________________
Another approach to assembling multi-cell partitions having slotted transverse and longitudinal partition strips is to assemble the partitions in a collapsed condition in which condition they are usually stored and shipped, capable of being erected to an open condition for use in cartons, boxes, crates and the like. Examples of such machines for assembling multi-cell partitions in the collapsed condition may be seen in the following patents:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. Inventor Issue Date ______________________________________ 3,646,857 McDougal March 7, 1972 3,998,136 Peters December 21, 1976 ______________________________________
The apparatus of the above-listed McDougal U.S. Pat. No. 3,646,857 provides for intermittent movement of the longitudinal and transverse partition strips during assembly thereof and, accordingly, lacks the speed necessary for profitable commercial operation. Moreover, the apparatus of this McDougal patent does not provide for adjustment thereof to assemble varying cell types and sizes of partitions.
The above-listed Peters U.S. Pat. No. 3,998,136 provides for continuous, rather than intermittent, assembly of multi-cell partition strips in the collapsed condition. However, while the machine of this patent may provide satisfactory commercial speeds, the machine has not yet been commercialized and it is not known whether such machine will in fact operate at commercially desired speeds during its continuous operation for assembling multi-cell partitions in the collapsed condition. Notwithstanding, this latest proposed machine does not include adjustment mechanisms therein nor other features which would provide for fabrication and assembly of multi-cell partitions in the collapsed condition of varying cell types and sizes at commercially desired speeds of operation.
In order to overcome problems presented by the above described prior apparatuses of the previous patents listed above, employees of the assignee of the present invention, designed an improved apparatus for successively fabricating and assembling multi-cell partitions in the collapsed condition thereof which provided the desired speeds of operation and provided the desired adjustments for fabrication and assembly of multi-cell partitions of varying cell types and sizes. This improved apparatus is set forth in assignee's copending applications, Ser. Nos. 855,711, 855,622 and 855,713.
As will be noted by reference to assignee's aforementioned copending applications, the improved machine of these applications was designed for continuous, rather than intermittent, fabrication of both the transverse and longitudinal partition strips in order to provide sufficient quantities of such longitudinal and transverse strips to the assembling mechanism of the machine for assembly of the partitions in the collapsed condition at the speeds desirable for satisfactory commercial operation. In order to accomplish the continuous fabrication of both the transverse and longitudinal partition strips, rather than intermittent, the provision of a top and bottom locking tab and slot at the location of each cut slot in the individual longitudinal and transverse partition strips was eliminated.
However, it has now been determined that such top and bottom locking tabs and slots are sometimes desirable in such multi-cell partitions so as to prevent the partition strips from becoming unassembled from the partition. Accordingly, the continuous partition strip fabricating mechanisms of the machine of assignee's aforesaid copending applications are not desirable for fabricating longitudinal and transverse partition strips having such top and bottom locking tabs and slots thereon.
The above-listed Peters U.S. Pat. No. 3,685,401 discloses transverse and longitudinal partition strip fabricating mechanisms in a machine for fabricating and assembling multi-cell partitions in the open condition thereof in which the fabricated transverse and longitudinal strips include top and bottom locking tabs and slots, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 of the drawings of this Peters patent. However, the partition strip fabricating mechanisms of this Peters patent are intermittently operated and, therefore, would not provide a sufficient number of partition strips, particularly transverse partition strips where more are utilized than longitudinal partition strips in a given partition, for desired high-speed assembly of partitions in the collapsed condition by an assembling mechanism of the type disclosed in assignee's above-listed copending applications.